The Story of Another
by Dave the Fish Guy
Summary: The prologue, beginning, timeline, whatever you want to call it. The main parts of the adventures of three friends on their Pokémon journey. Must be read before Speculum Aura. Contains OCXOC, OCXCynthia.
1. Year 1

Well here it is, my first written and broadcasted story. This was originally the first chapter of another fic that I planned, but in order to give the OC's a decent backstory, it got far too long to go with the rest of it. This idea came to me after I played LeafGreen too much, and started dreaming about it. Yes, the main character is based on myself, but that's because it was _my_ dream.

Basically, this story is the years before my main story, chronicling the journeys of the main characters through sporadic, important flashbacks.

A lot of credit and thanks goes to XAOTL / Omega for helping me plan this.

Bold is narration, this applies to all chapters.

And I'm not sure if I have to do this, but:

**I don't own Pokémon, at all, in any way, with the exception of the game catridges / cards / discs that I possess.**

**I do own the OC's in this story though, so hands off!**

Enjoy!

* * *

**The Story of Another**

Wow, I've really come a long way…

Such a long way, that it's not even me at the other end. I've changed a lot since then, we all have…

For those who don't know me, here's my story…

**Year 1  
Dave, along with his best friends Alan and Laura leave their home in Pallet Town at the age of 10, to start their journey amongst Pokémon. They are each given one of Professor Oak's starter Pokémon, as well as a Pokédex each to help them learn more about other species. The three friends travel through Kanto, catching more Pokémon and challenging gyms along the way, earning badges that will permit them entry into the Indigo Pokémon League.**

* * *

"Ah, there you are David, I was beginning to think you wouldn't show up." Professor Oak welcomes me into his lab.

I trudge inside, not being overly thrilled at being here. I sighed, he just had to use my 'official' name. I haven't been 'David' to anyone except my parents and general old people for the last five years, though I suppose the professor fits into that last category.

"I thought you'd be more excited about visiting me and receiving your first Pokémon, David." he says, a look of concern appearing on his features.

"Well, to be honest, professor, I'm not really that bothered about Pokémon." I say, in not more than a whisper.

"Really?" he asks. He then looks around the lab, and offers me a chair. Taking it, I look round to see him pulling up another. "Why do you feel that way David?"

"Well, I guess I just feel obligated to it. Everyone leaves at the age of 10 to train Pokémon, and seeing how my best friends are leaving to do just that, then there's not much point in hanging around town. I might as well do the best I can while I'm on the road." I reply, stating what has been rolling around in my mind for the last week as my parents and I prepared for my leaving home.

"Have you seen a lot of the Pokémon in this world David?" he queries.

I shake my head. "No sir, except for the Rattata and Pidgey around town. And the Magikarp of course."

A grin comes to his features. "Well then, you haven't seen the full scale of Pokémon then. There are many, many species in this world, all of them different, even those in the same species can look different from others."

This piques my interest. "Really professor? I never new there was so much variety in Pokémon."

He looks happy at this. "Good, I thought you'd come around. Now have you thought about which starter Pokémon you'd like?"

I nod. "Yes sir. I thought I'd like the grass-type one."

"Ah, Bulbasaur. A very good beginners Pokémon, and fairly easy to raise. But…"

I look up at this. "But… what sir?"

"Your friends came by earlier, Alan and Laura, to collect their starter Pokémon as well."

"Oh, well if they took the Bulbasaur sir, then that's alri-" I stop when I see the grin on his face.

"Ah, they all fall for it these days." he chortles, "No, the Bulbasaur you wanted is perfectly safe. Your friends took the water and fire-type starters. Aren't you lucky?"

I breathe a sigh of relief. The Pokémon I wanted was mine! Yes!

"I'll go and get it for you." he says, walking into another room in his lab. He comes back a few minutes later with what I knew to be a Pokéball. A sphere, with a red top half and white bottom half, with a black ring around the middle where the two halves met. There was a button in the middle of this ring, for enlarging or compacting the ball for easy transportation.

"Come on out Bulbasaur. Time to meet your new friend." the professor says, throwing the ball to the ground. It splits open and white energy pours forth, settling into a shape, which then becomes…

A green-blue creature, with four short legs, and a large head featuring two large, red eyes, which were looking around nervously. However, its most noticeable feature was a large, green bulb sitting on it's back. I could only pray that it wouldn't develop into a giant daffodil anytime soon, as that would probably give my major hayfever.

"Bulb-bulbasaur?" it said, as it looked around the room, and then at me.

"Can it only say it's name?" I asked Professor Oak.

He nodded. "Yes, most Pokémon can only say the syllables that make up their own names. Some can make other noises, like screeches and roars though."

"Wow." I murmured. I knelt down to face the Pokémon, which recoiled a bit, but then edged closer.

"Hello Bulbasaur." I said, holding my hand out to it. The creature looked at my hand for a few seconds, before giving an excited squeal, and tackling me in the chest, knocking me over.

"Saur, bulba-bulbasaur." it said as I stood up and picked it up with me. Professor Oak was trying, and failing, to suppress a laugh.

"Looks like Bulbasaur really likes you David." he said.

I looked down at the green creature in my arms, which smiled up at me, before saying "Yeah, looks like we're going to get on _just_ fine."

* * *

"Shush! Did you hear that Bulbasaur?"

"Bul-ba."

I had decided that I should catch more Pokémon. After getting to Viridian City without seeing so much as a Pidgey, I decided to try an area west of the City before journeying on. I'd been walking along with Bulbasaur when I heard a noise. Moving slowly so as not to disturb any Pokémon, I heard the noise again.

"Now Squirtle, Water Gun!"

The sound of splashing water ensued. I looked around the tree I was behind, and saw a Pokéball fly into a small bird. The bird was converted to red energy, and sucked inside. The ball closed, wobbled on the ground a few times, and was still. A 'PING!' noise echoed throughout the vicinity. I then saw a boy, around my age, walk up to the ball and inspect it. He muttered a small "Yes!" of victory, before minimizing the ball, and attaching it to his belt. He was now joined by a small, blue, turtle like Pokémon with an orange and cream shell. I recognised it as a Squirtle. I inspected the boy again. He was dressed mostly in red clothes, except his jeans. He had messed brown hair, which was underneath a red hat. I now knew who I was dealing with.

"Excited with your first catch, Red?" I asked.

The boy jumped, span around, and promptly broke out in a grin. "Hey Blue, good to see you." he said, referring to the colour of my attire, as I was his. "I wasn't sure I'd see you. I left fairly early today, and I know what your lie-ins are like."

"Yeah I know. But you shouldn't expect me to stay in your dust the whole time." I retorted. I saw my best friend bridle a bit at this. I've always known that he tends to rush forward without thinking, relying on me to help him when he gets bounced back.

We were walking back to Viridian now. So I thought I'd engage him in more conversation. "A Squirtle huh? I had you picked for a Charmander, Mr. Hothead Alan."

Alan sighed at this. "Well, I did want a Charmander, but it appears _someone_ got there first."

"Green huh? Well, she can be just as hotheaded as you, I suppose. I think it suits her." I said, talking about our other, mutual friend.

"Hey Dave, wanna head through the forest together after we get our Pokémon healed?" he enquired of me.

"Yeah, sure man. That sounds like a good idea to me."

* * *

"YES!" Alan shouted, as the Pokéball ceased to move on the forest floor. We were in the Viridian Forest and Alan, using his newly caught Spearow, had managed to catch a Weedle. I had made a catch as well, using Bulbasaur to acquire a Poliwag from a pond near the forest entrance.

We were wondering where to go next, when we smelled a burning scent. We rushed over to where the smell was coming from, and as we rounded a tree, we stopped dead. We saw a young girl, who we could easily identify. It wasn't the Chamander by her side, or the fact that she was obviously a rookie trainer. It was because she was wearing all-green clothing. Her sleeveless top, green. Her skirt, green. Even her wide hat, different to Alan's cap, was green. All different shades, but still green. So that was what we called her.

As the Pokéball she had thrown enveloped a small, green (surprise!) caterpillar, we approached her.

"Hey Green." Alan called to her.

No response, until –

'PING!' went the Pokéball. The girl walked over to collect it. As she got there though-

"Oi, Green!" Alan shouted. This had the desired effect. The girl spun around, her long blonde hair whipping behind her, saw us, shrieked, and fell over backwards.

Alan and I grinned at each other. "Do you think that she was surprised to see us?" I asked.

"Maybe, just a little." he replied.

We walked over to her, and helped her to her feet. She looked at us again, her brown eyes widening in confusion. "What the hell are you two doing here?" she shouted.

Alan and I grinned again at each other. "Honestly," he said, "such a temper at her age."

"Yeah," I added, "do you kiss your mother with that mouth?" knowing she could have quite the temper if the right buttons were pushed. Unfortunately, pushing said buttons usually resulted in an exploding control panel.

She sighed something on the edge of hearing that sounded like "Men!" and pushed past us.

"Hey, Laura! Come on! Where are you going?" I called. Laura had always been one of my best friends, along with Alan. Lots of people remarked how close we were for a boy and girl, but also knew that to each other we were just kids. If we were a few years older, it would be a lot more complicated, as well as frowned upon.

Alan ran on and caught her by the wrist. She struggled for a bit before stopping, knowing we wouldn't leave her alone now.

"What do you two want?" she asked. I say asked, it might have been a growl.

"Well, we _were_ going to ask-" I started, but was instantly cut off by an excitable Alan.

"Wanna travel with us?" he burst out.

She looked at us quizzically, before turning around, muttering "No thanks." and walking back into the forest.

"Come on Laura!" Alan shouted, "lets bring the colour group back together!" referencing our 'gang' at school, since we each wore one colour, and usually hung out together.

She stopped, appeared to consider it, and then turned back and walked towards us. "Well, you guys _are_ my two best friends. So okay, I'll go with you, but on two conditions. 1. I get my own room in Pokémon Centres." We both nodded at this, "And 2. I call any cute Pokémon we find."

* * *

Well, that's 'Year 1' of my stories Timeline. Alan and Laura are based on Red and Leaf, the player characters in FireRed and LeafGreen, with a few tweaks. They are _not_ based on friends of mine. Should be posting the next chapter tomorrow, so stay tuned!

Dave


	2. Year 2

Well, here's the second chapter of this story of mine. This is split into two parts, as I figured it takes about a year and a half to go round each region and compete in each League. This also features my first battle scene, so hopefully its OK.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Year 2, part 1  
**

**Dave, Alan and Laura collect all the badges in Kanto and compete in the Indigo Plateau Conference. Laura is defeated after making it to the last 16, while best friends Dave and Alan are forced to face off in the quarterfinals…**

* * *

The referee raised the red flag in my opponent's direction, at the same time proclaiming to the stadium:

"Poliwrath is unable to battle! Arcanine wins this round!"

I sighed, recalling my water-type to its Pokéball. I couldn't believe Alan's fire-type had defeated it. To be fair, Poliwrath had taken down Alan's Golem and Blastoise in a row, and had been getting worn down. That last Thunder Fang had just been too much for it. I was now down to my last Pokémon, as was my opponent, and friend. I knew we could overcome the type disadvantage, we'd trained so hard to for the past few weeks. Plus, his Arcanine had been pretty worn down by that last Submission by Poliwrath.

'This is it,' I think, grabbing my last Pokéball, 'Do or die.'

I throw the ball forward, yelling, "Heads up! Venusaur!"

My starter appeared on the battlefield, yawning as it starts to warm up. It's grown a hell of a lot since I started my journey. It was now a massive, saurian beast, with an equally large flower on it's back, though this didn't give me the hayfever I had been dreading. I could hear the crowd gasp, they clearly thought this was a bad move. But I had trust in my Pokémon.

"Ready pal?" I call out to it.

"SAUR!" it affirmed.

Across the battlefield, I could see Alan smirking, He thought he had this in the bag.

"Bad move Dave, now it's gonna cost you. Arcanine, Flame Wheel!" he commanded to his large, canid fire-type, which proceeded to run at Venusaur, its body coated in a circle of flame.

"Double-edge." I called, at which Venusaur started to run on a collision course with Arcanine. They both struck each other. I knew Venusaur would take more damage from Flame Wheel, plus extra recoil damage, but the power of Double-edge might just tip the scales in our favour.

Both Pokémon bounced away from each other. Venusaur was starting to get tired, but Arcanine was panting heavily. Hopefully another few attacks would do it…

"Razor Leaf!" At this command, Venusaur thrashed the flower on it's back, causing multiple, sharp leaves to fly at Arcanine. But Alan saw it coming, issuing another order.

"Heat Wave!" A stream of hot air was expelled from Arcanine's mouth, stopping and incinerating the leaves racing toward it.

Alan was looking agitated, he wanted this battle to be over, which explained his next order, "We're gonna have to make our attacks stronger buddy! Use Sunny Day!" Arcanine tilted its head up, and howled.

"AROOOOOOOOO!" As it did so, a golden stream rushed upward, from its mouth, toward the sun. It connected, and we all felt the effect. It was a LOT hotter, and the sunlight was so intense, my glasses instantly darkened. Alan had also put shades on at this.

"Now!" he cried, "Max power Flare Blitz!"

My eyes widened, if that connected, Venusaur was in serious trouble. I looked down at my friend on the battlefield, and saw that my grass-type was glowing green, its Overgrow ability starting to take effect. In particular though, I saw a glow in the centre of the flower on its back. I then remembered the latest attack Venusaur had learned, while we were doing our individual training for the tournament.

I looked up, to see Arcanine running full pelt down the battlefield, wreathed in flame, straight at Venusaur. It was now or never.

"Let's do this Venusaur! SolarBeam!" I shouted with all my might. The glow within the flower intensified, and a bright white beam shot straight out, connecting with Arcanine, who was only a few metres away at the time. A large explosion ensued.

While the smoke was clearing, I looked at Alan, who was staring right back. He nodded at me, and I nodded back, each of us thanking the other for this battle.

I then looked down and couldn't believe it. Venusaur and Arcanine were both sprawled on the floor, completely knackered. Then, slowly, I saw Venusaur move a little. It struggled, but managed to lift its massive bulk on all four legs, whilst breathing very heavily indeed. I looked across and saw Arcanine attempting the same feat. However, when it had finally stood up, it collapsed again, too tired to do any more.

I had won…

* * *

**Year 2, part 2  
**

**Dave defeats Alan, only to be knocked out in the semi-finals. All three friends are commended for doing so well in their first League competition. After hearing from Professor Oak about the neighbouring Johto region, complete with new species of Pokémon to catch and train, they leave all of their Pokémon with him and journey to New Bark Town to compete in the Johto League. When they arrive, they receive new starter Pokémon from Professor Elm in to help them on this new journey.**

* * *

"So you're the three brilliant Pokémon trainers I've heard so much about from Samuel," said Professor Elm, welcoming us into his lab.

"Err, I _guess_ so sir." replied Alan, looking a bit downcast at this.

"Well, top 16, 8 and 4 in your first Pokémon League tournament is nothing to be sniffed at, let me tell you!" the professor enthused, trying to lift the sombre mood that had hung over Alan since the battle between him and I in the Indigo League. The battle that I had won, and he had lost. The loss that had sent him out of the tournament.

"Thank you for saying that sir," said Laura, also trying to lift the mood, "you're very kind for thinking we're that good."

"Well, I hope you're that good, because this sort of thing does not happen very often. Only exceptional trainers get more than one starter Pokémon _given_ to them. If people want more than one, they usually have to catch one in the wild, and they are quite rare out there."

"Yes sir!" I shouted, ripping off a salute in jest of his pseudo-serious speech, "We'll be sure to make you proud of entrusting these starter Pokémon to us to raise, sir!"

Everyone in the room laughed at that. I was proud of myself for lifting the mood that was hanging on Alan.

"Now then," said Elm, "to business. As you know, there is a grass-type, a water-type and a fire-type starter Pokémon. Do you know which of you shall have which Pokémon?"

Alan looked at Laura and myself, "What do you think guys? Same order as last time?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm okay with that." answered Laura.

"Me too." I replied.

"Great! If I remember correctly from the matches I saw on TV, Dave has the grass-type, Laura the fire-type, and Alan the water-type, yes?" enquired Elm.

We all confirmed that, and he left to get the Pokémon. He returned a few minutes later with three Pokéballs. "Here's your new Chikorita Dave." He says, handing me a Pokéball.

I release the Pokémon inside. It's a small, light green creature with small, dainty legs, a collar of green stubs, large red eyes, and a large leaf atop its head. It looks at me, and with a small "Chiko!" jumps into my arms and nuzzles into my chest. I look over at my friends and see they're having equal success with their new Pokémon. Alan's is a small, blue crocodilian, and Laura's is a similar sized blue and cream creature with a long snout and flames on it's back.

"Looks like we've got our new partners guys." I say, laughing with them.

* * *

Well, that's 'Year 2' taken care of, next chapter soon, probably tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Dave


	3. Years 3, 4 & 5

Right, short chapter today, as not so many important things happen this chapter, therefore only one (short) flashback.

Enjoy

* * *

**Year 3  
The three friends battle through the gyms of the Johto League, all the way to the Silver Conference. Laura does well, but again crashes in the last 16, after having to battle Alan. Alan and Dave go on, but both lose in the semi-finals to other trainers. Both are still commended for doing so well.**

**

* * *

**********

Year 4  
Leaving their Pokémon with Professor Oak again, the trio journey to the region of Hoenn. Again, they pick up new starter Pokémon from Professor Birch, with Dave getting a Treecko, Alan obtaining a Mudkip, and Laura gaining a Torchic. The three friends set off to challenge the Hoenn League but, along the way, Laura discovers Pokémon contests. Finding them preferable to battles, she decides to become a Pokémon co-ordinator. She starts collecting ribbons as Dave and Alan collect their badges.

* * *

"Wow Laura, that was amazing!" said Alan, as our female companion walked towards us. Laura had just won her third contest ribbon here in Hoenn, her hard-trained Beautifly and Roselia just managing to overpower her competition.

"Yeah, congratulations Laura." I added, "I'm really proud of you."

Laura's face flushed slightly at this compliment. I had noticed that a lot recently, as it showed up against her fair skin. I was beginning to suspect that she was developing a fever, so I'd have keep an eye on her. "Thanks guys, that really means a lot to me!" she smiled at us. That dazzling smile…

I snapped myself out of it. Where the hell had _that_ thought come from? I'd have to be careful where my mind was going these days. Puberty was turning into my brain into an inappropriate thought minefield. Although I wasn't as bad as Alan, who had been openly leering at almost every girl we met on our travels recently, much to Laura's, and my own, chagrin.

Laura put her newly gained prize in her ribbon case, and then turned to us, the smile still etched upon her face. "So guys, where are we of to next?"

I checked my map. "Looks like the next gym's in Lavaridge Town." I said.

"Alright!" shouted Alan, startling the both of us. "Let's go get our next badge Dave!" he exclaimed. We shared a high-five, before continuing along the road to our next destination.

* * *

**Year 5  
****Laura collects a full set of ribbons, and challenges the Hoenn Grand Festival. Despite being a rookie, she places in the top 4, and receives a best newcomer prize. Dave and Alan get a full set of badges, and compete in the Ever Grande Conference. Alan again places inside the top 4, and Dave makes it to the final, only to be defeated.**

**The trio return home to Pallet for a while, before leaving all their Pokémon behind and journeying to the Sinnoh region. They again get new starters from Professor Rowan. Dave gets a Turtwig, Alan obtains a Piplup and Laura acquires a Chimchar. With these new Pokémon, they set off to challenge the Sinnoh League and Grand Festival.**

* * *

Sorry to anyone who thinks this is too short, but there will be a huge 'Year' next, so big it takes up 2 chapters! I'll try to update tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Dave


	4. Year 6, Part 1

Right, this is the biggest 'year' out of the timeline, so I had to split it into two chapters. Another battle this time, hopefully I've done OK. Features heavy use of the word 'Garchomp'.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Year 6  
**

**Laura gets a full set of ribbons, challenges and comes runner-up in the Sinnoh Grand Festival. Alan and Dave collect a full set of badges and compete in the Sinnoh Conference. They make it through to the semi-finals, where they have to battle each other again. Dave advances to the final after another close match, before having to square off against a mysterious Lady in Black…**

* * *

"Return Gastrodon." I muttered as my blue, slug like creature was recalled to its Pokéball. I just couldn't believe how strong this girl was. I had one Pokémon left, she had just sent her fifth out, to instantly destroy my Gastrodon. Who knew a Roserade could be so powerful?

She had some rare Pokémon. Seriously. A Milotic, a Pokémon that any co-ordinator would kill for, and that Laura had acquired by chance, was her first choice. I managed to KO it with Luxray, before her next choice, a Gastrodon like mine, only pink, had wiped my electric-type out with unnatural speed. Torterra was my next choice, quickly disposing of the water-type with a well-placed Wood Hammer. It then fell to a Pokémon I hadn't even _seen_ before, a strange ghost attached to a stone, identified by my Pokédex as a Spiritomb, using a wicked range of attacks. My trusty Bastiodon brought down the ghost, only to be annihilated by another rarity, a Lucario. The fighter also disposed of my Staraptor, before yielding to my own Gastrodon. And then the Roserade came out, amazingly dodging every Ice Beam we threw at it, before smacking Gastrodon with a point-blank Energy Ball. This was it, all my hopes for the Sinnoh League rested on my last Pokémon, which also happened to be my strongest…

I threw the ball at the battlefield, at the same time calling upon the Pokémon resting inside, "Heads up! Garchomp!"

My bipedal Shark-Dragon appeared on the field. I heard a lot of gasps at the appearance of the Pseudo-Legendary Pokémon, but its mighty roar silenced them all.

"GAAAAAARRAAAAAAR!" it exclaimed, ready to do battle. Everyone in the stadium, even my mysterious opponent, recoiled at this. I took this opportunity to attack.

"Let's go Garchomp! Attack with Fire Fang!" Garchomp rushed Roserade, unnerving it with its speed, and caught it with its now flaming teeth. Garchomp then threw it to the ground and leapt backward, awaiting my next command.

"Now Aerial Ace!" I shouted, and Garchomp sprang forward, almost flying, before disappearing and striking Roserade hard. The grass-type fell, incapable of battling any further.

"Roserade is unable to battle, Garchomp wins this round!" exclaimed the referee. I felt my confidence beginning to re-emerge at this, as Roserade was recalled to its ball. I thought I could do it, beat this mysterious girl, and win the Sinnoh League.

At the sight of her final Pokémon though, all that was dashed to pieces. If she hadn't been stood behind it, I'd have thought a giant mirror had been placed across the stadium. It was _another_ Garchomp, slightly bigger than my own, and with no nick in the dorsal fin, indicating that, like it's trainer, it was a female.

But I couldn't give up, my Pokémon and I had been though so much just to throw it away in the face of a bigger 'more powerful' Pokémon of the same species. I had one saving grace, I knew most of the attacks it could execute.

"Garchomp, let's not back down now! Strike first, use Dragon Rush!" I commanded. If I could just get a solid hit in, it could decide the rest of this battle. Garchomp sped forward, surrounded in a blue aura. Just as it was about to hit the opposing dragon, the foe vanished! Garchomp turned around, looking for its opponent, when I noticed the hole where the other Pokémon had been stood.

"Garchomp, its using Dig! Hit it with an Earthquake!" I saw my opponent flinch at this, as Garchomp raised one foot, and slammed it down, shaking the entire stadium. I knew this would do extra damage on a Pokémon underground, and I could see parts of the floor caving in all over the rocky battlefield, obviously where the tunnel the other dragon had dug was.

The opposing Garchomp surfaced, looking a bit damaged, but still ready to fight. The mysterious girl I was battling was smiling again. I heard her issue a command, "Brick Break, now!" as her Garchomp rushed toward mine, its fins glowing white. I had to do something.

"Counter with Dragon Claw!" I ordered, and my own Garchomp's claws glowed yellow. As the white fin of its opponent swung down at it, the yellow claws came up, connecting. For a while they tussled, fin to claw, while people stared, mesmerised. I eventually regained my presence of mind enough to issue another command.

"Use Dragon Claw on its body with your other arm!" I shouted. Garchomp acknowledged this, and slashed at the body of its foe with its opposing claw, breaking the struggle they were locked in. I could see that the other dragon was tired, panting heavily, and her trainer had a look of seriousness on her face as she issued the next attack.

"Giga Impact!" she cried, and her Garchomp rushed at mine again, enveloped in a series of orange and purple lights. I had to dodge that move, and strike while her Pokémon recharged.

"Dodge it using Aerial Ace!" I shouted, Garchomp nodded, and built up speed, disappearing sporadically from view. My opponents Pokémon followed its every move, but could not manage to hit it.

After a while, it was obvious that this was going nowhere, I had to attack. But Garchomp had yet to master Giga Impact, so there was only one option:

"Use Dragon Rush, and charge into it, head-on!" I shouted. Garchomp turned, enveloped in the same blue aura as before, and headed directly into the opponent.

There was a huge explosion as the two dragons collided. The smoke wasn't going to clear anytime soon, so I decided to watch my opponent. I'll give her some credit, she was very attractive. About a year or two older than myself, she wore pretty much all black: black trousers, black top, black scarf, and a black overcoat. This was a big contrast from her pale skin, along with her long, flowing blonde hair, which cascaded down her back. She saw me staring and smiled at me. Despite all my professionalism until then, I could've sworn I felt my face heat up at that.

The smoke was clearing, and I could see one figure up, and one on the floor. My Garchomp was standing up! I couldn't believe it! I'd won the Sinnoh League!

At least, that was what I thought. I then saw the other Garchomp slowly get to her feet. They locked gazes, and I swore I saw them nod at each other, before, as if in slow motion, my Garchomp keeled over backwards, utterly exhausted.

I felt sick. I was so sure I was going to win, so sure I'd become something all my friends and family could be proud of, and it was snatched away at the last possible second. I recalled my Garchomp, turned, and walked back into the stadium, vaguely aware of the announcer calling out that the winner of the Sinnoh League was Cindy-someone of Somewherestic Town. I had to have some time on my own.

* * *

Guess who the other trainer is? Its obvious if you've played Diamond and Pearl. Bit of a low note at the end, but thats nothing compared to the next chapter. Hope the battle was OK. Next chapter tomorrow hopefully. Stay tuned!

Dave


	5. Year 6, Part 2

Well, this is the second half (more like two-thirds) of the Year 6 flashback of the Timeline. More of a subdued mood here, but there's a few character quirks, and a new friend. Some (slight) violence later on as well. You have been warned!

Enjoy!

* * *

I pushed past all the fans, the girls screaming at me, the young trainers wanting my autograph. What did they want to talk to _me_ for? I hadn't won, I was a loser, a nobody. I headed straight for the healing desk to drop my Pokémon off with Nurse Joy, before heading for the one thing that's always been there for me when I've felt this low. I was going to buy a chocolate cake.

I know it isn't good for me, but it's comfort eating, it's there to make you feel better, not look better. I'd gone into a café, bought the biggest chocolate cake they had, and sat in a corner with a fork and spoon, slowing eating my way through it. I was halfway through, when I felt someone sit next to me. I knew it wasn't Alan, or Laura, as if it were one of them, then they'd both be here. But if this person knew who I was, then they sure had a lot of balls if they were sat next to me. I didn't look at them, I was completely focused on the cake. Though I was aware of the presence of black, and long blonde hair…

"That was an _awesome_ battle." A feminine voice whispered in my ear. I didn't flinch. If the cake were not here, I would have jumped out of my skin. But it was here, so I just focused on that, swallowed my mouthful and replied.

"I'm a little busy right now, so would you mind leaving me alone, and get all your fangirl friends to stop bugging me as well. I don't know what you're all bothering me about, seeing how _I didn't win!_"

To my surprise, the presence next me didn't move away, instead she shifted closer and asked, "What makes you think I'm a fan?"

I was really starting to lose my rag now. I just wanted to eat my cake so I could feel a bit better. "Because, ever since I got out of _losing _that match, everyone in the whole stadium has been bothering me. I'm just trying to feel better by eating my cake, as I'm currently feeling a little depressed."

Then she did the most despicable thing ever. She extended a hand and _scraped some icing off my cake with her finger!_ I couldn't believe this complete disregard of cake etiquette. As she went to lick the icing off I was forced to look at her…and saw…_her!_

"You." I muttered, recognising my opponent.

She giggled "Yep, me!"

"But what are _you_ doing here? Shouldn't you be out celebrating with your friends? And your trophy?" I spat the last part out.

She looked a bit taken aback at that, but then started smiling again. "Nope. I saw how sad you were after the match, so I thought I'd come and find you. Those were some really strong Pokémon by the way."

"Not strong enough obviously." I muttered under my breath, though I'm sure she heard. "And I wasn't sad, I was despondent. I'm far out the other side of sadness. When your Garchomp stood up, and mine fell over, I felt like throwing up, I felt sick. That's why I got this." I said gesturing to the cake.

"But isn't a cake for victories?" She asked.

I shook my head, "Most cakes are for victories, _this_ is chocolate cake, the best comfort food in the world. I get depressed, I get a chocolate cake, I feel better."

"Fair enough," She replied, "I've never had depression problems, so I wouldn't know."

We sat in silence for a couple of minutes, while I ate more cake, and she stole more icing.

After a while she spoke again, "So how long have you been training?" she enquired.

"This team or Pokémon in general?"

"Both."

"I've been training Pokémon for six years now, but this team for a year and a half."

"Wow, and you got them this strong in that short space of time? That's amazing!"

"You think so?"

"Yeah! If you had more time on your hands to train, you could win any League!"

"Well, I trained for a solid month before this tournament, and that still wasn't enough."

She smiled at me. "I'm not talking about months, I'm talking about _years_."

I practically scoffed at this. "Years of training, are you serious? I'll probably going to a new region with my friends in a couple of weeks."

"Oh really, where?" she asked.

"I haven't thought about it." Honestly I couldn't think of any regions with a typical League set-up that I hadn't been to. "I'll see what my friends want to do."

"Ah, travelling with friends then? I remember those days…" she replied, starting to space out on me.

"Hey, come on! Helloooo!" I shouted, waving my hands and clicking my fingers in front of her face. It occurred to me then that I didn't even know this girl's name. Damn, what was it? "Cindy? Hello?"

She snapped back to reality, gave me a funny look, and burst out laughing. By the time she got her breath back, I could understand most of her words. "Whe-where did you get 'Cindy' from?"

"I thought that was your name. Well I wasn't really paying attention when the announcer mentioned you, so I guessed mainly," I replied, feeling a little embarrassed.

"Well, you were almost there," she held out her hand to mine, "The name's Cynthia, of Celestic Town"

I took her hand, and shook it, replying, "It's nice to meet you Cynthia. The name's Dave, of Pallet Town."

As our hands connected, I'm sure I felt a spark or something pass between us. It was really weird. Looking into her cool, grey eyes, I'm positive she felt the same thing. We broke contact, and I continued eating my cake.

"I'm serious though," she spoke again, "if you trained your Pokémon intensively, for a decent amount of time, there's no telling how far you could go!"

"Really," I replied somewhat sarcastically, "How long have you trained your Pokémon like that?"

"Two years."

I nearly choked on my cake. Two years? This trainer, this _girl_, had done extreme training with her Pokémon for _two years?_

"Wha…?" I struggled to ask her how she managed this feat.

"But if you're going to keep travelling with your friends, there's no point in discussing it, is there?" she asked. I had a feeling this was more a statement, not a question. It was along the lines of 'A great magician never reveals his secrets.'

"So who do you travel with?" she enquired, obviously interested. It never struck me as odd how this girl who I had just met, who stole my cake icing, and who I had the most intense battle of my life against, was asking me questions like this. It just felt natural, like I'd known her for years.

"They've been my best friends, ever since we were kids. There's Alan, who's a complete hothead, always rushing ahead, literally. We've got such conflicting personalities, yet instead of clashing, it's like we complete each other, you know?" she nodded as I said this, obviously having similar friends. "The other one I travel with, Laura, well… she's a co-ordinator, a great one, she's definitely going to win a Grand Festival someday. She's determined, smart, kind, funny, pretty…" I stopped myself there, realising I was spacing out while thinking about Laura, and revealing things I'd rather be kept hidden at the same time.

I looked over at Cynthia, and saw she had a bit of a smirk on her features. "What?" I asked, expecting what came next.

"Well, Dave," she replied, stealing more icing in the process, "It sounds like you have it pretty bad for this girl."

"WHAT?" I spluttered, spewing cake crumbs everywhere in the process. "I do NOT think about her like THAT!" I said. The smirk was still on her face. But then I settled down. I realised that I'd been feeling different about Laura recently. I mean, we _were_ both nearly 16 now, along with Alan. I guess it's only natural for guys to notice girls differently around that age. I'd confided this in Alan when I'd had the feelings for a while, and he swore he wouldn't tell her while we were still travelling together.

"Maybe you're right," I said, and she smiled in triumph as I continued, "She's always been one of my best friends, but I guess recently I've started thinking of her as something more."

She gave me an 'I told you so!' look before replying, "Well it looks to me as though you should tell her this if she means so much to you. You don't want to lose her. What'll happen if you stop travelling? You and your friends will drift apart and you'll wonder what could have happened."

I was surprised by this statement, but remembered that she was a girl, she would understand these things.

I finished my cake, and turned back to her, saying, "Thank you, Cynthia. I think I'll go do that now actually." I saw her eyes widen, clearly she hadn't expected this effect of her statement. I shook her hand, "I hope we meet again one day." I said, turning to leave the café.

I heard her say, "I hope so too!" I turned at this, and we smiled at each other. I felt my face heat up again at that. Was I catching a fever or something? All the late nights preparing for the tournament catching up with me? Nah, I was fine. I left the café, heading for the locker room, where I knew my friends would be waiting for me.

* * *

"What's your problem?" Alan shouted at me, getting back up.

"What's my problem? WHAT'S MY BLOODY PROBLEM?" I yelled back, not caring about the passers-by staring at us, "YOU! THAT'S MY PROBLEM!"

"But I thought you'd be happy for us!" He retorted, "I didn't think you'd lose your rag over it!"

"Happy? You thought I'd be _happy_ for you? Have you lost your mind?" I asked incredulously, my shoulders heaving with every breath. "I'd be happy for you, if you'd gotten together with a girl who I hadn't specifically told you I liked!"

I had gone down to the locker room to tell Laura how I felt about her. I rounded the corner and found her and Alan locked in a passionate embrace. Like when I lost the match, I felt sick, numb, like I would never be happy again. They saw me, and commiserated me on my loss, but I didn't answer them, except to say I had to get some air. I walked to the outside of the stadium, in the fresh air, and heard _him_ behind me, calling to me. I stopped, turned around, and promptly decked him.

"I told you! I trusted you with my feelings! And what did you do? You kicked me when I was down. 'Oh Dave, sorry about your last-second loss in the final. By the way, I've been licking the tonsils of the girl you've had a crush on for the last year!' Thanks a lot _mate_." I shouted at him, letting everything I was feeling at that moment go in a torrent of tears and verbal abuse.

"But you told me that a year ago! You said that yourself! I thought you'd let it go by now. I can't help that I like her as well!" he replied, trying to stay cool, while rubbing where I'd punched him.

"Feelings like that don't go away after a year!" I replied, just letting emotion drive me now, "They stay with you for years! Even in five years time I'll feel that way about her! Honestly, I know you always go ahead without thinking of the consequences, but this time you've gone too far."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked suddenly.

"What do you think? You've always rushed ahead, never thinking things through, ever since we were kids. Even in your battles, you do it. Why do you think you always loose the first round of a match? Why do you think I've always beaten you?" He quickly broke eye contact with me at that. I remembered that the day before, I had beaten him in the semi-finals of the tournament. Then the penny dropped.

"That's it isn't it?" I muttered, "You did this because you couldn't handle that I beat you!"

"Dave, this isn't about tha-" Alan began, but I cut him back off.

"_You did this to get back at me?_" I continued, almost refusing to believe my 'best friend' could do this to me. "The Indigo League, it took you so long to get over your loss to me. Four years later, and I beat you in the semi-finals here! You just can't handle the fact that I'm better than you, so you hurt me the only way you can, through my heart." I was breathing heavily at this point. "In one fell swoop, you betray me, and take the girl I like for yourself. I was on my way to tell her! Do you understand? I was going to tell her that I liked her _tonight!_ But you just couldn't wait could you?" I shouted, punching him to the ground again.

I paused, catching my breath. "I'm sorry Alan, but that's it. It's over."

He looked up at me from the floor, his eyes wide at this statement. "What do you mean 'It's over'?" He asked.

"Us, you and me. Best friends forever, yeah? Wasn't it you who said that? Well no more! That is the final straw Alan, I hope you and Laura are happy."

"Blue, mate-" he began, using my old nickname as an act of desperation. But I wouldn't let him have it.

"No. You can't just pretend we're kids again, not a care in the world, and make this just disappear." A twisted smile came to my face. "But then, why would you do that, eh? You got the girl. Congratulations _Red_."

I could tell how much that hurt him, but it made me feel slightly better, which was all that mattered to me at that point. I turned, and headed into the surrounding crowd, but stopped. "Tell her I said goodbye." I said over my shoulder, before disappearing into the crowd, which still thronged the outside of the stadium.

* * *

"Didn't think you'd still be here." said a vaguely familiar voice. I turned, through my tears making out a mainly black shape, framed with yellow. "Are you okay?"

I ripped my glasses off, wiped my eyes clear, and recognised the shape as Cynthia. She dragged me over to a set of chairs, where we sat down.

"What happened?" she asked.

I remembered the last time we talked, and managed to make myself laugh at something, before replying, "I may need more chocolate cake…"

* * *

"Any suggestions?" I asked.

I had filled Cynthia in on what transpired between Alan and myself. She seemed to sympathise with me, almost as if she had been in this situation before. I decided that, since I wouldn't be travelling with my 'friends' anymore, I might as well do some of that training she advised me on, and was asking for help.

"Well, tough, out of the way places are generally best. Places where you are unlikely to be disturbed, with harsh conditions, as well as strong wild Pokémon." she suggested.

A few places sprang to mind, "You mean like, Mount Silver, Mount Coronet, those sort of places?"

A smile came to her face, "Yeah, those are two of the best places actually. You may want to catch some new Pokémon as well, to add some new variety, as well as power, to your team."

"Alright, I'll do this" I said, determined to get stronger, to prove I could win.

Cynthia looked at me oddly. "What?" I asked.

"You have no idea what to do, do you?" She replied.

My head fell. "No…"

She giggled again. It was a nice, melodic sound. Then she asked me a life-changing question:

"Want me to help?"

* * *

Well, this shows that friends are not always there for you, and sometimes it's someone you just met who is. And also that chocolate cake is also there. Hope this was OK, as I'm not too great with emotion. Next chapter should be up tomorrow, so stay tuned!

Dave


	6. Year 7

Whew! Now that Year 6 is out of the way, let's progress to Year 7 of the Timeline. Some credit here goes to Elite4James, for inspiring the 'hands-on training' idea, but I think mine's been adapted enough in my own way. Also an attempt at shippyness here, hopefully that's OK as well.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Year 7  
****Dave leaves his friends behind. Laura is upset, but Alan tells her they will see him again. Together, they journey around Kanto, Laura challenging the new contest circuit there, and Alan re-challenging the Indigo League. Laura comes runner-up again in the Kanto Grand Festival, while Alan places second in the Indigo Plateau Conference.**

**Dave returns to Pallet Town for a while, asking Professor Oak to construct a device capable of holding as many Pokémon as necessary. This is so he doesn't have to interrupt his training to find a Pokémon Centre to switch his Pokémon. While waiting for construction to be complete on the 'Pokébox' he hears about a young, local trainer rising through the ranks, named Ash Ketchum. Despite wishing to meet the boy, Dave learns that he has recently competed and won in the Orange League, and just departed for a new adventure in Johto. After getting his new Pokébox, he heads to Mount Silver, ready to train…**

* * *

I dodged the next punch, that one had been close. "You're too slow!" I taunted. The response was another punch, which I again evaded. "You think you'll hit a Pokémon in battle if you can't hit a human?" I asked. My attacker was obviously getting wound up by this, and let me know it after the next dodged attack.

I suddenly felt blinding pain, all through my body, before collapsing. After a couple of minutes of getting my breath back, I walked over to my assailant.

"No! We agreed no Thunderbolts!" I scolded. The Pokémon I was training with looked at its feet, sheepishly. It was a huge, shaggy mass of a Pokémon, mainly yellow, with black stripes. It had two tails, each with a red tip.

"Ele-vire…" It muttered, obviously feeling ashamed for losing its cool with me. I smiled at it.

"It's okay buddy," I reassured it. "Those punches are really coming along. I'm gonna try and get you to learn Ice Punch soon." My Electivire smiled at this. It, like me, wanted to get as strong as possible.

I reached for the Pokébox, "You take a rest for now, alright?" Electivire continued to smile at me even as it was converted into energy and recalled into the box. It was similar to a Pokéball, except that it couldn't be minimized, staying at a constant cubic foot in size. It was cube-shaped, and had a handle on the lower back, so it could be held and the top could still open. I thought about who to train with next, before deciding.

"Heads up! Gallade!" I said. The box opened, and white energy was exuded from it, forming into a tall, humanoid Pokémon. It had white legs, but a green upper body. There was a red horn on its chest, with a similar horn on its back. Its face was white, but its scalp was smooth and green, except for a spiky ridge in the middle. The effect was of a gladiator's helmet. Its most noticeable feature, though, were the blade-like forearms that extended backward, past the elbow.

"Gallade!" it exclaimed, happy to be out of the box again, "Gall?" it enquired, obviously wanting to know what we were doing.

"Good news Gallade! Look what I finally got!" I said, and Gallade's face lit up as I produced two blunt, but sturdy old swords. I had wanted to help Gallade practice the blade attacks it had learned since evolving, but had been unable to do so. Eventually I'd found an old salesman at the foot of Mount Silver willing to sell me these swords, as he saw no further use in them.

"Gallade! Gall-gallade!" It said, obviously very happy with the development. I put one of the swords down, and hefted the other, feeling its weight and how to handle it. I eventually got comfortable with it. I then pulled out my Pokédex and scanned Gallade, to see what sword attacks I could help it train to use more effectively. My eyes widened when I saw the list.

"How about Leaf Blade?" I asked, picking a new attack at random. "Fancy learning to use that better?"

"Gallade! Gallaaaaaaaaa…" Gallade closed its eyes in concentration. After meditating for a few minutes its forearms turned a lighter shade of green than usual. It looked at them, and then at me, a determined look in its eyes. "Gallade!" It said, challenging me.

I bowed, before hefting the sword again, and then holding it, ready to duel…

* * *

"Come on Garchomp! This attack focuses all of your inner rage into a powerful aura of fury! You need to get really angry to pull it off!" I encouraged. I was trying, without a lot of success to teach my Garchomp an attack that was even more powerful than Dragon Rush. But my Shark-Dragon couldn't quite understand what I was asking of it.

"Gar?" it asked, cocking its head in confusion. Fortunately, I had another Pokémon that could teach it the move.

"Dragonite, heads up!" I called. The Pokébox sprang open to release my newly acquired Pseudo-Legendary, a large, orange and cream dragon-type, which looked at me expectantly. "Dragonite, use Outrage on those rocks. Watch this carefully Garchomp."

Dragonite nodded, and then let out a mighty roar, "AAAAARROOOOOOOOOO!" The roar continued, and a red aura built up around the Pokémon. After a while, the dragon was encased in what looked like a flame, only almost solid crimson. It's eyes were terrifying, all reason was gone, the pupils almost invisible. Dragonite then charged at a nearby rock formation, smashing straight through. It then continued through several other piles of rocks, before returning to my side, the red aura of Outrage disappearing.

I knew Dragonite would be worn out by using this attack, so recalled it to the box. I then turned to Garchomp. "Think you can manage that?" I asked it. The dragon nodded, and also let out an ear-splitting roar.

"GAAAAAAARRRAAAAAARRR!" it cried, the same red flame building up around it. I was amazed, Garchomp was getting it on its first try! My joy was short-lived however, as the aura surrounding the dragon faded.

"Wow, you're really going all-out." a voice behind me said. I saw Garchomp get into a battle-stance, before turning myself. A girl in black was stood there, her long, golden hair blowing in the breeze. I recognized her instantly.

"Hey Cynthia." I called to her, before remembering something, "It's ok Garchomp, she's a friend now." I told the dragon, who stood down from its attack pose.

She giggled at that. "Looks like your Garchomp still remembers me then." she said. I again felt my face heat up as I thought about how nice her laugh sounded. "Outrage training huh? I remember trying to teach my Garchomp that attack. Of course, I didn't have a tutor like a Dragonite helping me…"

"I could help you with that, if you'd like." I blurted out, perhaps a little quickly. She smiled at me, and I again felt a warm feeling in my gut. What was wrong with me? Was I catching a cold? I'd been making sure to eat the right things during my training, so I couldn't be that sick, could I?

"No, I think my Garchomp's strong enough. Thanks anyway though." she replied. I felt a little disappointed at that. "Besides, I thought I was here to help _you_ train?" she asked, giggling a little.

"Yeah, I suppose." I muttered. Then I brightened up, a new thought entering my mind. "How about a little battle then?" I asked of her.

She smiled, and grabbed a Pokéball from inside her coat, "Let's do this!" she said, fire in her eyes. I grinned at this. She had no idea how many new tricks I had to show her…

* * *

"Whew!" panted Cynthia, sitting next to me on a rock, "That was… intense! You've really improved!" I smiled at this compliment. I knew I'd improved over the last year, but it was different to hear Cynthia say it.

"Thanks, that means a lot, coming from you." I replied, also breathing heavily. We had just had a close three-on-three match, which I had barely managed to win. Some of my Pokémon had really impressed me with new attacks that they had only started learning a few weeks ago.

"I can see how much this training has done for you Dave. Aren't you glad I put you onto this idea now?" she asked, another 'I told you so!' look on her face. I smiled.

"Yeah, thanks again for that. I feel a lot stronger than before, and my Pokémon… well you saw the battle." I replied. "I can't imagine what would have happened if you hadn't encouraged me, especially after… my friends left me." I finished, trying not to remember my two 'former' friends, who had sent me into this spiral of needing to get stronger.

"Yeah, I'm just glad you're out of that bad place." Cynthia said, a look of concern on her features. She then stood up.

"Hey, where're you going?" I asked her.

"Look around us Dave, did you lose track of time or something?" she said, sounding a bit exasperated. I did look around. The sun was setting over Kanto, illuminating the whole of the region. I could see the Indigo Plateau, where I planned to re-challenge the Indigo League next year, glowing in the orange light. In the east, I could just make out Blackthorn City, as well as Silver Town near the foot of the great mountain. We had battled for so long it was now the end of the day.

"Sorry, I guess I did. I don't even bother with a watch these days, just train until the sun goes down." I explained.

Cynthia calmed down a bit at this. "Okay, sorry for losing it with you. I haven't been getting a lot of sleep recently." she explained. "Anyway, I'd better get going. I'm staying with a friend in Ecruteak City." She started to walk off.

I thought about that for a second, before it clicked. "Hang on! Ecruteak's miles away! You'll never make it back before nightfall!" She had turned and was looking at me with that cool, grey-eyed gaze.

"You have another suggestion?" she enquired, smiling a little.

I clawed for a response on the inside of my head, "You could stay here, with me." I cringed when I realised what I had just implied, but it was too late now.

The setting sun must have caught her face, as it glowed slightly red, which showed against her pale skin. "No thanks, I didn't bring any camping gear." she said, suddenly looking at her feet.

I felt disappointed with this, as much as when she didn't let me help with her Garchomp's training. She started walking away again.

"Cynthia." I called. She stopped once more, turning back. I walked up to her, and enveloped her with a hug. She stood still for a minute, before reciprocating the hug to me. We just stood there for a few minutes, in each other's arms, before she pulled back.

"Thanks for that, Dave." She smiled. The setting sun must have been getting intense, as her face was now glowing as red as beetroot in the light it cast.

"You'll come back, yes?" I asked. I just had to know if I'd see her again.

She nodded, "Yeah, I'll be back in a few days. I just have some stuff to check out in Ecruteak, and I'll be back after that."

"Thank you." I said. We hugged again, during which time seemed to stand still, and I swore I felt that same spark I did before, before she backed away, turned, and started walking down the mountain path.

"How are you getting to Ecruteak, anyway?" I shouted to her.

I heard her call back, "Let's just say I have friends in high places!"

I turned back to my camp, before I heard the whoosh of wings. I looked at where she had been, and saw nothing. I looked toward Johto, and saw a large, winged shape disappearing into the distance, with the figure of a person on its back.

I smiled. At least I knew I would see her again. Hopefully soon.

* * *

So, that was my attempt at shippyness, hopefully it was alright, but not having much experience in that department doesn't help. In case anyone couldn't visualise it, Outrage looks like a red version of Volt Tackle / Head Smash in the Anime, although Flare Blitz will probably look like that when it debuts. An alternate description would be the Kaio-ken aura in DBZ. Next chapter should be up tomorrow, as usual. So stay tuned!

Dave


	7. Year 8

OK, here's 'Year 8' in my Timeline, mainly made up of a huge battle scene, which I hope is good enough...

Enjoy!

**Year 8  
Laura and Alan journey to and re-challenge the Hoenn circuit. Laura wins the Grand Festival, while Alan again places second in the Ever Grande Conference.**

**After over a year of intense training, Dave goes round all the Kanto Gyms, training his Pokémon of the gyms type, and weak to that type in each one. He then re-challenges the Indigo Plateau Conference, rising through the stages with the newfound strength of his Pokémon, as well as himself. He eventually reaches the final, where he faces a difficult opponent…**

* * *

"Now, use Thunderbolt!" I commanded, as the two behemoths on the battlefield tussled, grappling with each other. My Pokémon grunted, before executing its attack.

"Ele…vire!" It shouted, zapping its opponent, a huge Aggron. The giant steel-type was instantly shocked at close range by my Electivire's twin tails, breaking its grip. Electivire backflipped, landing away from its adversary.

The Aggron's trainer, a boy around the same age as me, dressed in a sharp black and purple suit with silver hair, issued the next move. "Earthquake, now!" he shouted. His Pokémon raised one foot, before stomping it to the ground, shaking the whole stadium.

I smiled, knowing ground-type attacks were my Pokémon's only weakness, but my Electivire could counter an Earthquake.

"Use your own Earthquake Electivire!" I yelled. Electivire raised its fists, before slamming its forearms to the ground. The shaking intensified, but as Electivire was hunched to the ground, the attack did very little. Aggron, on the other hand, had not expected its attack to be rebounded on it, and had trouble keeping it's footing. It eventually fell over, the full force of the double-Earthquake hitting it.

It was time to end this. "Cross Chop, let's go!" Electivire leapt at Aggron, its arms spread wide and its open palms glowing white. As it reached the target, which had just struggled to its feet, it brought the arms together and downward, in an X-shape. The attack smashed into the Aggron, which then collapsed on its back, completely exhausted.

The referee raised the green flag in my direction, "Aggron is unable to battle! Electivire wins the round!"

My opponent withdrew his Aggron, pausing for a moment, before selecting another Pokéball. He threw it forward, unleashing his fifth Pokémon onto the field. It was a large, brown Pokémon, with a round body, which was covered with obscure symbols. It also had a round head, which had pink eyes all the way around the edge. I audibly groaned. There wasn't a lot Electivire could do against a Claydol, only a couple of moves in its arsenal were effective, and one hadn't been mastered yet. I had to try though.

"Electivire, try an Ice Punch!" I called, praying it would work. I had been trying to teach Electivire Ice Punch, to counter its ground weakness, for months now, but it hadn't been able to fully master it yet.

Electivire focused for a moment, it's hand starting to glow blue-white, before leaping at Claydol, and swinging it's icy fist at it. It actually connected, Claydol being visibly weakened by the strong attack, but I wasn't going to pressure Electivire too much. I had to use other attacks, but only one other option presented itself.

In this time however, Claydol's trainer had issued a command, "Sandstorm, go!"

Claydol started spinning, getting faster and faster, as sand poured from its earthy body. The sand was whipped up into fierce storm, and I knew Electivire would start taking damage from it, as it had nowhere to take shelter on the plain, rocky field.

"Try to hit it with Giga Impact!" I shouted over the sandstorm, and saw an orange-purple glow in the sand. I saw it moving, before it faded. The sandstorm then subsided, and I saw my electric-type on the ground, with no energy to battle any further. There was a large hole next to it, so I guessed that the Claydol had used Earth Power while Electivire was disorientated in the sandstorm.

"Electivire is unable to battle, Claydol is the winner!" the referee announced raising the red flag in my rivals direction. I sighed. Now we were on level pegging. I recalled Electivire, and thought for a moment. Claydol was a ground-type, but also had the ability to levitate, meaning ground attacks couldn't hit it. But it was also part psychic-type, meaning there were other ways to hit it…

I threw my next Pokéball toward the field, summoning the Pokémon I had chosen, "Heads up! Yanmega!"

A huge, dark green dragonfly appeared above the battleground. It had wide wings, which were beating furiously, and a somewhat menacing appearance. But I knew this Pokémon, and it was one of my top battlers.

My opponent obviously knew what I was planning, hence his command, "Use Light Screen!" At that, Claydol summoned a light green shield in front of it. This would negate any non-direct attacks I planned to use, which was a shame. Given the less-than-sturdy physical state of a Yanmega, direct attacks weren't really an option.

"Looks like we're going to have to power up! Ancient Power, go!" I shouted. Yanmega summoned a series of rocks from the ground, each of them surrounded by a blue aura, and held them in place in the air in front of it. It was now a matter of waiting, but that was fine. The longer Ancient Power was used, the more powerful Yanmega could become.

After a few minutes of the stalemate, the Light Screen in front of Claydol faded. Yanmega took this opportunity to attack. The rocks flew at Claydol. Normally, I knew, rock-type attacks wouldn't do much damage to a ground-type Pokémon, but I'd found a way of negating this. As the rocks were about to strike Claydol, they suddenly glowed red, and then hit the Pokémon. They had gone through a Tinted Lens, an ability Yanmega had that powered up moves if they would do less damage based on typing.

I could see that Claydol was feeling weak. I could somehow sense it was near the end of its battling ability. It was time to put it down.

"Psychic attack!" Its trainer called, and the Claydol's many eyes glowed blue. Yanmega was surrounded in the same colour aura, and then thrown about the stadium, against the walls, and down to the floor, before being buried in a hole by rocky debris. I flinched at this onslaught, and thought it might be down. Then I heard the buzzing of wings, and Yanmega burst upward from the crater it was buried in. It was damaged, visible wounds where it had been smashed around covered its body, but I knew just how to get it healed.

"Giga Drain!" I called, and Yanmega reared backward, shooting out a green beam that snaked toward Claydol, before wrapping around it. The beam then glowed red, as what little health that remained in the ground-type was sucked along it, entering and healing Yanmega. After a while, the beam disentangled, and was sucked back into my Pokémon. Claydol collapsed to the floor, out cold.

The judge raised the green flag in my direction again, announcing, "Claydol is unable to battle! Yanmega wins this round!"

My foe recalled his Claydol. He was now down to his last Pokémon, and I had a feeling that it would be his strongest. I was soon proved right, when a huge Metagross took the field. I was not bothered by the appearance of the massive steel-type. I would find my way around it.

"Yanmega! Use Bug Buzz to confuse it!" I ordered. Yanmega's wings started to beat faster and faster, the whine starting to build. At the same time the dragonfly's battle chant was also audible as it built up the strength of the attack.

"Yan-yan-yan-yan-yan-yan-MEGA!" it eventually screeched, as the noise of the attack drowned out every other sound in the stadium. It was like the sound of a million angry wasps, added to a few thousand hungry mosquitoes, and lots of just plain annoying houseflies. Being used to the attack, I was unfazed. However, everyone in the stands, the judge, and my opponent all had their hands over their ears. They also had their eyes shut, as the noise of the attack also made you feel like something was tickling your eyeballs.

I could see his Metagross becoming unnerved by the attack, before glowing blue. I wondered what it was doing, before I heard the noise of Bug Buzz dieing away. I realised that Metagross was using Psychic to slow down Yanmega's wingbeats, effectively disabling its Bug Buzz attack. I cursed my luck at this, as I'd have to resort to other attacks.

"Break free Yanmega! Then use Air Slash!" Yanmega managed to shake itself free from Metagross' Psychic hold. It then pulled its wings back, and flapped them forcefully a couple of times. Every time it did so, two blades of vacuumed air flew out towards Metagross, each one turning red just before impact. This caused small dents to appear in the Pokémon's metallic body. Tinted Lens was again taking effect to counteract the type disadvantage of the attack. This wasn't doing much damage, though it was all adding up. I could tell my rival had had enough.

"Meteor Mash! Let's go!" he ordered. His Metagross moved across the battlefield, the end of one of its forelegs glowing, with amazing speed I hadn't expected from the huge metal powerhouse. Before Yanmega could even dodge on its own, the attack connected, and my dragonfly was smashed into the wall, completely done with.

The red flag went up, "Yanmega is unable to battle! Metagross wins the round!"

I sighed, and returned Yanmega to its Pokéball. I wasn't angry with it for losing, it had taken down the Claydol, and weakened the Metagross. Now I just needed to get rid of that, and fortunately, I had just the Pokémon to do it.

I grabbed the last Pokéball from my belt, and hurled it into the stadium, again summoning the Pokémon that resided within. "Heads up! Houndoom!"

My hellhound materialised on the field of play, delighted at being able to battle. "DOOOOOOOOOOOM!" it howled, wagging its pointed tail with joy.

I wasn't going to waste any time, I had to put this Metagross away. "Dark Pulse now!" I commanded. Houndoom howled again, at the same time a black aura spread out from around it. I had grown used to the effect of the attack, much like Bug Buzz, but it was still unnerving, knowing what was going to happen to everyone else.

When I first ordered Houndoom to use Dark Pulse, I was overcome with almost every form of negative emotion. Anger with myself for being weak, Envy at Alan for stealing Laura from me, Grief for not doing anything… the list went on. I felt like I wanted to die, I felt so low. Then Houndoom snapped me out of it by licking my face. Despite being a dark-type, my Houndoom was kind, affectionate soul, not the snarling, vicious beast that so many are depicted as.

I could see my foe, his Metagross, and everyone one else in the stadium recoil as the dark emotions filled their souls. I decided to attack while my opponents were distracted.

"Flamethrower, Houndoom!" I ordered, as the black aura died away. Houndoom now fired a stream of fire from its mouth its foe. The flames closed in, before suddenly being diverted by a Psychic attack from a now-recovered Metagross. I saw my rival smirk at this. While his steel-type couldn't affect Houndoom directly with its psychic powers, it could affect a lot of projectile attacks.

"Metagross, Earthquake!" my adversary instructed to his Pokémon. Metagross lifted one of its forelegs high above the ground, before smashing it down. As the floor began to shake, I could see Houndoom beginning to stumble. I had to do something before it took the full brunt of the powerful ground attack.

I issued a very strange-sounding order, "Houndoom, charge up and jump!" I could see heads turning in the audience, as people tried to work out what that meant. Houndoom started running, jumping over the shockwaves sent by Metagross' Earthquake attack. As it did so, its horns glowed white. This would look odd to someone who had not trained a Houndoom to overcome its type disadvantages. I had to get my Pokémon close to that Metagross so it could attack it without being interrupted. This was the only way.

"Now Houndoom, somersault!" I shouted. My dark-type lined itself up with Metagross, and then jumped, spinning forward. When it was upside-down in the air, spinning again, I finished my manoeuvre. "Use SolarBeam!"

It happened just right. A white beam left Houndoom's mouth, the light energy having been collected in its horns. The force of the SolarBeam pushed Houndoom forward, and it finished its somersault, landing on top of Metagross. I heard the whole stadium take a collective gasp, as I issued my final order.

"Go Houndoom! Max Power Flamethrower!" I called to my Pokémon. Houndoom took a deep breath, before unleashing a mass of hellfire down onto Metagross. It was so forceful, the entirety of Metagross' being was turned into a giant fireball.

When the smoke cleared, a charred and scorched Metagross lay prone on the floor, its limbs spread out in every direction, with a clearly happy Houndoom sat atop it. The referee raised the green flag in my direction, declaring to the stadium, "Metagross is unable to battle! Houndoom wins! This means that the winner of this match, and the Indigo Plateau, Indigo League Conference, is Dave of Pallet Town!"

I collapsed to my knees, exhausted, tears of joy running down my face. I'd done it. I'd finally won. My last thoughts were of the cheers of the crowd, the howl of triumph from Houndoom, what my family would think about this, what Laura would make of this, and how close the floor was getting…

* * *

**Dave wins the Indigo Plateau Conference, beating his final opponent, Steven Stone of Hoenn, Pokémon Master. Dave meets Steven after the match, and the two become friends, with Steven offering to help Dave train if he wants.**

**Dave collects the Pokébox from Professor Oak, ready for another period of tough training, this time on Mount Coronet. While in Pallet Town, he hears again of the young trainer Ash Ketchum, who recently placed in the top 8 in the Silver Conference, and is currently travelling through Hoenn with friends.**

**Laura and Alan hear about Dave's win, and attempt to reach him in Pallet Town, but he leaves before they arrive. They decide to travel to Johto, to compete in the contests and re-challenge the League there respectively.**

* * *

Yes! At last, a win for Dave! I hope this battle was good enough for everyone. I'm still new to this writing business, but if there's one thing I know it's Pokémon battles. The next chapter will be the last of this prequel story, and should be up tomorrow. Stay Tuned!

Dave


	8. Year 9

Well, here's the last chapter, chronicling 'Year 9' of Dave's adventures. This gets a bit surreal, but try not to get freaked out. I'd like to think I've done a unique story here. Though some credit goes to Elite4James, and his story 'Project Arceus', for inspiring a certain aspect, but I think I've done my own thing regarding it.

Oh yeah, _italics_ represent 'Aura speech'... and now I've given the plot away... damn.

Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

**Year 9  
****Laura wins the Johto Grand Festival, winning her second Ribbon Cup. Alan finally wins a League, placing first in the Silver Conference. They decide to head to Sinnoh next.**

**Dave continues with his intense training regimen in the Coronet mountain range, occasionally meeting up with Cynthia and Steven to spar with them. He catches new Pokémon, including some that Alan owns, taking the hatred he felt for his old friend and turning it into a drive to get himself and his Pokémon stronger. His Pokémon learn attacks they would not be able to learn naturally, a testament to how hard they train. Among these new additions are twin Riolu, nicknamed Delphi and Delpho, which evolve into two powerful Lucario. Dave spends a lot of time with these Lucario, even engaging them in discussion. Unbeknownst to him, however, these Pokémon are training _him_…**

* * *

"Now Delphi! Use Aura Sphere on that rock!" I ordered. One of my Lucario brought her paws back to her side, and charged up a ball of blue-green energy. "Hold it!" I shouted. Something was…different. Delphi looked at me, confusion in her eyes, but held the ball of 'Aura' still, at her side. I walked up to it. It made a small humming noise, but for some reason it had sounded louder before. I wouldn't have been able to hear it from over there, but now I could. "Hold it still, okay Delphi?" I asked.

"Cario." She replied, nodding. I walked backward, to where I had been before. I could no longer hear the humming the ball made. I looked back at Delphi, and felt the weirdest thing. The ball was making no noise to me, but it _felt_ like the loudest thing around. Like when a loud stereo or speaker system is suddenly put on mute, you still hear the noise for a bit. It was silent, yet ridiculously loud at the same time.

I closed my eyes. I could still 'hear' it, for want of a better word. I felt a presence next to me. I looked over to see my other Lucario, Delpho. "Luar?" He asked. I expected he wanted to know what was wrong.

"I'm fine buddy." I replied. He still looked doubtful, those piercing red eyes seemed to be looking into my very soul. "Come on, I'm fine already! Let's get back to training." Delpho nodded at this. I looked over to Delphi, who had since dissipated the Aura Sphere she had been holding.

"Okay! Delphi, use Dragon Pulse!" Delphi's mouth opened, and a blue shockwave shot out, smashing apart a nearby rock formation. "Alright, nice one! Now try another Aura Sphere!" Delphi drew her paws back to her side, and the blue-green ball of energy formed again between them. I concentrated. The…'sound' had returned. But as Delphi fired the ball at another heap of rocks, I could have sworn I heard someone whisper something.

"Well done Delphi! Take a rest now, you've earned it." Delphi leant against a convenient rock, while I turned to Delpho. "Your turn now buddy. Ready?" I asked.

"Cario!" He replied enthusiastically. I smiled at that.

"Let's get to it then. Use Close Combat on those rocks!" Delpho leapt off, and started working on the rock pile with a flurry of lightning fast punches and kicks. Delphi came over and stood next to me, both of us watching her brother chip and grind the boulders down into sand. "Now use Bone Rush!" I called. Delpho put his paws together, like he was holding the world's smallest set of handlebars, before spreading his arms, holding a blue-green bone-like object. It proceeded to use this to smash the rocks. I concentrated again…

The bone, it was the same as the Aura Sphere. Loud, yet silent. A supernova to the eyes of the soul, it was so bright. At least…it _felt_ bright, it _felt_ loud. I'd had enough of this for today, so I called Delpho off. The sun was going down, I had to start getting ready for one of the Coronet range's harsh nights.

* * *

"Wha…what's going on?" I asked. I had the sensation of falling through the air, but there was blackness in all directions. It was like sinking through the deepest part of the sea, only still able to breathe, as well as not being crushed into jelly. I looked around. There was nothing there. I then felt movement behind me, and turned to face it.

Two blue, glowing shapes were floating there. They were on the same level as me, but a few metres away. They did not appear to have noticed me, and I could hear voices coming from them. I started listening to them. There was something very familiar about these beings…

"Do you think he is ready?" One of them asked of the other, in a deep, masculine voice. "You saw what happened earlier, he definitely sensed it."

"I agree," replied its companion, "We will have to try to give him that last little push, then he will be able to realise his true potential!" This one spoke with a more delicate, feminine tone.

The first one spoke again, "We are agreed then? Tomorrow we shall _try_ to reach out to him. He's so far along now, he's bound to feel something."

I couldn't help but think that these creatures had it in for someone, but I couldn't catch anymore of their conversation, as I fell away from them, back into the darkness.

* * *

"Good work Gengar, you were awesome! Take a good rest now buddy." I withdrew my ghost back into the Pokébox as I praised it for training so hard. "You guys were great as well, so you take a rest too." I recalled Gallade, Weavile, Houndoom and Wobbuffet, my 'occult-types' into the Pokébox as well. I considered who to train next, and made my decision. I needed to see if anything had changed since yesterday. "Heads up, Delphi, Delpho!"

My pair of Lucario materialized before me. I knew I was lucky to have just one of these rare, intelligent Pokémon, but they were brother and sister, and would not be separated.

"Ok lets try some other attacks today guys." I encouraged. These Pokémon could learn a lot of moves, and I decided to train Delphi as a long-range attacker, with Delpho being able to hold his own with close-in moves. "Delphi, use Psychic on those rocks over there."

My female Lucario nodded, before her eyes glowed blue. Several nearby rocks rose into the air, surrounded by a similar blue aura. I was pleased with this, Delphi had only been learning to use Psychic for the last couple of weeks, yet seemed to have almost completely mastered it. I could sense that Delpho was itching to do some training as well.

"Okay Delpho, use Metal Claw to shred those rocks!" Delpho ran toward the boulders at this order. The spikes on the back of his paws glowed, and then each extended into three long, metallic claws. He jumped, slashing at the rocks as he passed them in the air. While he was doing this, I turned to Delphi. She was still concentrating on the rocks in the air, her eyes still glowing blue. As I looked at her, I thought I could hear the whispering from the day before. I tried listening closer, the words becoming clearer, and clearer…

"_Hurry brother, can't… hold them much longer!_" Was Delphi speaking? This was amazing! I didn't have much time to think about it though, as when I tried focusing on the words again, my vision went black.

* * *

I was falling again, through the blackness. Like last time, there was nothing there at first, but I soon felt a presence behind me. I turned, and saw the blue figures again. However, they were a lot closer this time, almost right in my face.

"What happened?" The nearest one asked of the other.

"I don't know!" The second, feminine voice exclaimed. "I was busy holding up those rocks, and when I looked round he had fallen over!"

"You were saying something to me at the time yes?"

"Yes! I was asking you to hurry up, my mental hold on those rocks was slipping!"

"Well, it may be that your Psychic attack projected your thoughts to within range of his picking them up. He's obviously sensitive to us, and that may have just been that push we were looking for." The nearer figure explained, before turning to face the other. "This is a great achievement sister, we shall have to see what state he is in when he wakes up."

"As long as he is alright." The female voice muttered.

I didn't understand. Were these…beings my pair of Lucario? But why were they talking about me like I was unconscious? Unless…

I looked around. Maybe I was unconscious, yet dreaming, and being influenced by my Lucario, who were both nearby when I blacked out. I didn't have much time to dwell on this, however, as I began to fell away from the glowing creatures, back into the dark.

* * *

"_Look, he's coming to!_" I heard a voice say as I opened my eyes. Heard was entirely the wrong. The voice arrived in my head without any assistance from my ears. It was strange, almost as if I _remembered_ hearing it, but with my mind instead.

I looked around, and saw my Lucario twins standing over me, looking at me with concern, as well as a bit of anticipation. "Hey guys." I muttered, trying to shake off a massive headache I had developed, "What happened?" I asked them, expecting a range of syllables made of Lu-car-io. They both looked at each other, and nodded.

"_Can you hear me, sir?_" a voice in my head asked. I jumped, as this had severely aggravated my headache. "_Sir?_" the voice asked again. It was familiar, but I could not imagine where I had heard it.

"_Sir! It is vitally important that you say if you can hear me or not!_" the voice practically shouted. My eyes widened. It was the voice of one of the creatures in the dreams I'd had recently.

"Yes, I can hear you." I said, in barely more than a whisper. I saw Delpho relax a little at this, and then turn to his sister.

"_See, I told you we'd done it._" the voice said in my head. I then realised what had happened. My Lucario were somehow communicating with me without words.

"_Well done brother, I just knew we would be able to eventually!_" a second, more feminine voice now joined in. I recognised this voice as the other creature from my dreams.

"Wait a minute!" I suddenly burst out, making them both jump. "What exactly just happened? I black out, have a crazy dream, wake up and can now understand you two?"

My Lucario looked at each other again, before turning back to me. "_My apologies sir, I can appreciate that this is slightly distressing_." the first voice, which I could now identify as Delpho, echoed inside my head. "_We have suspected that you were sensitive for some time now, but we did not think that you would reach this level so quickly._"

"Hold on, sensitive? Sensitive to what, exactly?" I asked, still not fully understanding them.

"_To Aura._" came the clear, female voice that I took to be Delphi. "_Only a few select species and individuals can sense, manipulate and harness its power._" I was starting to get confused again.

"Aura? Isn't that some form of energy? I've seen you use it for attacks, like Aura Sphere, and Bone Rush." I asked of them.

"_Aura is not simply 'energy'. A more appropriate term would be…Life-force. Everything releases Aura, even rocks and machinery. Living things have a store of it inside themselves. Some creatures have a greater store of Aura, and this makes them more sensitive to it. Our species, Lucario and Riolu, are examples of this. And so are you._" Delpho explained.

"Me?" I asked, incredulous. "Why me? I've never heard of humans being able to do this."

"_There are very few humans capable of sensing Aura._" Delphi 'said'. "_In the past there were more, but their number has declined in recent years. You have an unnaturally large Aura for a modern human, master._"

Delpho 'spoke' next, "_You mentioned a 'crazy dream', sir. Would you care to enlighten us to it?_"

I told them about my dreams, falling through a void, the blue shapes that I now related to them. They seemed surprised at this.

"_It seems, sir, that you were sensing our Aura while you were asleep._" Delpho 'said'.

"So that blue stuff, that was your Aura?" I asked. They nodded. "Oh great. Why do I get the feeling my life just got a lot more complicated?"

* * *

A few months later, I was walking around one of the mountains in the Southern Coronet range. I stopped for a moment, and closed my eyes. I focused, and felt my hair stand on end, being blown backward, despite the wind blowing the other way…

I could see silver streaks in the air, blowing past me. I was on the right track. I went to move, but then saw a blue flash a few dozen metres away, around the bulk of the peak.

"I can see you Delpho!" I shouted over the wind. I saw the blue shape stop, before moving up, coming toward me. I opened my eyes and saw my male Lucario crest the ridge of the mountain, and then jump down to me.

"_Most impressive master, you were able to sense me a lot further away than before._" He 'said', praising the development of my Aura abilities. He and Delphi had trained me to sense their Aura, as well as the rest of it. When I closed my eyes, and reached out with my mind, I could see them, as bright blue shapes. My other Pokémon had a slightly less bright, but still noticeable, blue glow to them. The only exception was Gengar who, being a ghost-type, had no 'life-force' and therefore very little Aura. The surface of land, and other inanimate objects, was also very faint, but still noticeable. I could see through solid objects, as bacteria and other micro-organisms on their surface exuded the majority of their Aura.

There was only one niggle that I had with being able to sense Aura, which I kept explaining to the two who would understand. "Delpho, I've _told_ you! You don't have to call me 'Sir', or 'Master' all the time, 'Dave' is just fine!"

But neither my Lucario could understand this concept. They thought that they were my servants, not, as I kept trying to tell them, partners and friends.

I had also been taught to focus part of my Aura, and also part of the Aura surrounding me, into a ball in my hands. This was very similar to the Aura Sphere attack that Delphi used. However, I was told that this was only to be used for defence, never to attack.

One more thing that my Lucario had told me was that Aura could help tell me where I was meant to go next. While I was training the last few months, I felt like it was time to re-challenge the Sinnoh League. Since I nearly won it last time, the new strength of my Pokémon and myself should be enough to win this time. So I had decided to do the same as when I re-challenged the Indigo League: work round all the gyms in the region, staying and training for a few weeks in each, before entering the Sinnoh Conference, which was still a year away.

The problem was that, being on the Coronet range, I had a choice of three or four gyms to train in. Where to start? Fortunately, Delphi and Delpho taught me to sense the Aura, and develop instincts based on it. If I tried sensing Aura, I could see silver streaks being blown by an invisible wind. This was where the Aura was telling me to go. Right now it was taking me south.

I rounded the next mountain, closing my eyes again. The wind my Aura instincts were picking up had changed direction, it was now blowing to my left, the southeast. I opened my eyes and looked down at where it had been blowing. There was a city down there, the third city I had visited in my first journey through Sinnoh, and where I had earned my first badge in the region. Oreburgh City.

This was fine, I had acquired a few new rock-type Pokémon recently, as well as some that were weak to rock-type attacks. Plus it would be good to see Roark again, he and I had got on well when I was in town last time.

Smiling, Delphi, Delpho and I headed down the mountainside, toward the city. At least I knew that the next few months would be uneventful…

Unfortunately, as uneventful equals boring.

* * *

'Occult-types' is my nickname for collective Ghost, Psychic and Dark-type Pokémon. 'Lucario' backward is oiracul, a corruption of oracle, and there was a famous oracle at Delphi in Greece, hence the nicknames.

Well, that's it. All of the backstory is now done, and I hope you all liked it, especially the Aura aspect of it. Now the _proper_ story can begin. If you want to see what happens with this storyline, you'll have to check out my other story, 'Speculum Aura'. The first chapter should be up soon, so stay tuned!

Dave


End file.
